Our last day. Superb sunrise into a cloudless blue sky, followed by several hours of pesky sea fog, eventually clearing to wall-to-wall sunshine and little or no wind – one of those rare days when the flag on top of the church hangs limp! Highlights: at least three
Yellow Wagtails, including a stonking male feeding in the gullies at Jenny's Cove, where there were 12
Puffins on the water at mid-day. A major movement of hirundines (hundreds of
Swallows and tens of
Sand Martins and
House Martins) began late morning after the fog cleared and birds were still piling through when we left mid-afternoon.
Pied &
White Wagtails,
Meadow Pipits,
Linnets and
Goldfinches were also on the move. There was a small overnight fall of
Willow Warblers (c.50) and
Chiffchaffs, and with them at least two
Whitethroats and 2 singing
Grasshopper Warblers in Millcombe, where there was also a singing male
Greenfinch (a sound rarely heard on the island). A fresh
Wheatear influx included a number of probable Greenland-race birds. A female
Merlin flew N off the Terrace. At around 14.00 an
Osprey (that we managed to miss...) flew N along the East Side and was seen by Rob Skeates and Kevin Rylands, among others. A few minutes later, a
Common Buzzard (that we did see!) flew over the Village. Both large raptors were pursued – as usual on Lundy – by mobbing gulls and corvids. A great end to an eventful few days.
